Analyst firm Berg Insight recently published a report which estimated that the number of laptops with mobile broadband connectivity in Europe will increase from the 8.4 million recorded last year to 49 million in 2013, an increase of 34.1% year-on-year.
PC notebooks will have pre-installed mobile broadband technology for use away from the home in addition to a fixed connection. Once the majority of laptops intended for the European market have embedded HSPA/LTE chipsets as standard in the coming three to five years, users will be able to directly insert a SIM card into their laptops for mobile broadband freedom. Having said that, we’re pretty much already there technologically speaking; the plug ‘n’ play Dongles, available from the likes of Orange, T-Mobile and 3 are essentially SIM cards and a USB attachment encased in aesthetically pleasing plastic jackets.
The explosion in mobile broadband technology is likely to put a strain on mobile operators. In terms of volume of data, mobile data traffic already exceeds that of mobile voice traffic.
According to Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst at Berg Insight, serious network investments are needed if mobile operators are to keep up with demand from consumers: “On the one hand [mobile operators] have a highly attractive proposition – a novel mobile service with high ARPU [average revenue per user]. On the other hand, the very popularity of the service stretches the mobile network infrastructure to its utmost limit – threatening to degrade the level of service for all subscribers.”
Vodafone famously shelled out millions to invest in high-speed mobile broadband access, and are now reaping the benefits, currently able to boast the fastest speeds going.
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